Brazil has seen spectacular success in developing bioethanol—it has allowed the nation to become independent of foreign oil. However, ethanol is not as environmentally friendly as first imagined:

• When use of machinery, fertilizers and pesticides are considered, the environmental damage from the production of ethanol exceeds that of fossil fuels.
• Ethanol has a negative energy return on energy invested (EROI)

The U.S. and E.U. ethanol projects rely heavily on food crops as feedstock. As a result, they have been harshly criticized by the U.N. for fuelling the global food crisis. China has consequently banned the use of grain for bioethanol production in mid-2007. In another decisive motion against bioethanol, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Right to Food called for all new investment in first-generation biofuels to be frozen immediately on May 2nd, 2008.